A Hayward, Calif. man has been arrested for calling 911 more than 30,000 times over an eight-month period.
John Triplette, 45, would make emergency calls on his cell phone and then respond to dispatchers’ queries with grunting sounds and “bodily noises,” or would push random buttons “just to be annoying,” police said.
During one seven-day stretch, Triplette averaged more than 189 calls a day. “He completely overwhelmed our system,” said Hayward Communications Center Manager Desi Calzada.
Aided by the FCC, police were finally able to trace his cell phone. When asked why he called 911 so often, Triplette replied, “because it’s free.”
